Windsor Re-4 School District enrollment up nearly 10 percent in 2016

The hallways in the Windsor Re-4 School District no doubt seem a little more crowded this year.

The district now serves 5,707 students, a 9.9 percent increase from this past year. The enrollment spike is dramatically higher than the trend of the past 10 years, which has been close to 5 percent each year.

Stephanie Watson, assistant superintendent of the district, explained that when it comes to enrollment, schools aren't impacted evenly across grade levels.

“You see a change not just because of new students, but with certain class sizes moving to different schools” Stephanie WatsonAssistant Superintendent

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"You see a change not just because of new students, but with certain class sizes moving to different schools," she said.

For Tozer and Mountain View, for instance, a large second-grade class that graduated from Tozer became a large third-grade class and progressed to Mountain View.

Watson said this is something to keep in mind as students age. The bulk of this year's growth is at the elementary level. After Mountain View, Range View increased by 87 students, a 16.3 percent increase from this past year.

Windsor Middle School stayed fairly steady with an increase of only 11 students, but Watson estimates the school will see an enrollment spike as soon as next year, when fifth-graders move on to middle school.

Windsor High School, which closed open enrollment this year, still saw an increase of 104 students, or 7.8 percent.

Officials say a new high school will open in Severance in 2019, which will alleviate the overcrowding at Windsor High School.

In a 2016 interview, Dan Seegmiller, superintendent of the Windsor-Severance school district, said the district will need to address overcrowding if this year's enrollment spike is the new normal — even more than it has with the passing of bond initiatives 3B and 3C, which will pay for the new high school as well as capital improvements across the district.